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Obtaining client's business info to put together a quality demo

by Hard Boiled Greg
2 replies
Hello,

I am looking for clarification on how those of you who present "targeted" website demo's approach the design and content of the demo site itself.

I am having success cold calling to present demo websites, but after I get off the phone I realize I haven't obtained much info regarding what type of site the client would like or what content they would like on it.

By contrast, if a client approached me to design a website for them, I would ask them questions like:

- what are the goals for the site
- company background and profile
- what sets the company apart from competitors
- what problems does the business solve
- what products/services do they want to feature
- what are company colors etc.

Then I would ensure my design accommodated all of those elements.

I think (and I may be wrong), that those who are doing demo's obtain all that info AFTER they present a demo and the client agrees to go forward.

I understood the "website demo" approach was a hook to sell the customer on on doing business with you.

I think in my effort to present the strongest demo possible I am trying to "guess" at what might be important to the client, but as I don't know their business, this might be really slowing me down.

Can someone break down how they approach demo websites so that they appear "complete" to the client, but don't encroach on full-website development in and of themselves?

Thank you very much!

Greg
#business #client #demo #info #obtaining #put #quality
  • Profile picture of the author beeswarn
    Doing demo sites isn't a great business model.* But doing one now and then can be an effective tool to break in to someone who won't otherwise listen to you.

    Just use your judgement and experience to anticipate what he wants a site to do and get your demo close. If you catch his attention with it, he'll ask you about customizing it for him. Then you can make a sale.

    Understand that even if you are selling The Greatest Product In The History Of The World, most people are going to tell you they don't want to spend money on it when you present it to them.

    You just have to work yourself into the market and let them see your product working, continually. This means you'll have to take all the "No"s and work hard to get to the "Yes"s. Once you've done that you'll have a portfolio and a reputation. Those won't make selling any easier, but they will make selling more common.

    *Demo sites are a bad business model because prospects see you doing too much work for free. They see an opportunity to low-ball you and buy out your spec work because you don't need it anyway if they aren't going to buy it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    If you are selling cheapo websites to build a portfolio then you can just set up a few nice templates and switch out the headers and such, worry about the details AFTER they give you some loot.

    You really dont want to be spending lots of effort on these demos and you really dont have to if you plan ahead.
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